Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth to run for Texas governor

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File 2013/The Associated Press

Some big Democratic donors are coming away from conversations with Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis saying that she intends to run for governor next year. She does. And she plans to make that announcement Oct. 3, according to those who are hearing from her.

AUSTIN — Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis, whose filibuster against an abortion-restriction bill catapulted her to national attention, will announce next week she is running for governor.

Davis, a Fort Worth lawyer, faces a formidable challenge in a state where Republicans dominate statewide political offices. The last Democrat elected governor was Ann Richards, nearly a quarter-century ago.

But backers say Davis has the potential to energize voters, drawn by her efforts to take on GOP leaders in the Legislature who have pushed through cuts in education, social services and health care.

In recent weeks, she has been meeting with influential Democrats and soliciting donors in anticipation of mounting the uphill campaign. She plans to formally announce her candidacy Thursday, said several Democrats who have heard from her.

Spokesman Hector Nieto declined to discuss her plans. But he pointed to an email Davis recently sent to supporters promising a decision on Oct. 3. Late Thursday, the campaign said it will take place at the Wiley G. Thomas Coliseum in Haltom City, where Davis received her high school diploma.

That setting may be a signal in part that Davis wants to stress her focus on public education instead of being so closely aligned to abortion, which Republican have sought to use against her.

Her 11-hour, headline-grabbing filibuster in June temporarily blocked a GOP bill limiting abortion. But the measure later was passed and signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry.

Still, the fight energized Democrats and produced a flood of campaign money for Davis — $1 million — in a matter of weeks. She has traveled to fundraisers on both coasts since then. She also has been featured in Vogue magazine and fielded increasing calls from allies in Texas to make the race for governor.

Money prospects

Davis operatives believe she can raise at least $25 million but might need $40 million for the race. That’s substantially more than the last Democratic nominee, former Houston Mayor Bill White, collected in his losing bid against Perry in 2010.

The 50-year-old Harvard Law School graduate was a divorced single mother at 19 who lived in a trailer home before pursuing college, a legal career and public office. She has two daughters, one from her first marriage and the second with Fort Worth lawyer Jeff Davis, from whom she was divorced in 2005.

A big issue, Davis associates said, is whether she will have enough money to bankroll a TV ad blitz. That’s needed to promote not only the positive aspects about herself and but also to raise negative critiques of her likely Republican rival, Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Abbott has been in statewide office for more than a decade and has developed a network of big-dollar Republican donors. He already has more than $20 million in the bank.

He’s being challenged by former state Republican Chairman Tom Pauken, who reported a fraction of that amount. But he is well-liked among tea party advocates and said he has some financial commitments of his own.

If Abbott wins the GOP nomination, he and friendly third-party groups are expected to hammer Davis as a one-issue political liberal out of step with voters.

The Davis campaign blueprint calls for broadening her appeal. It will emphasize her work on the Fort Worth City Council and in the Senate on public education, pro-business initiatives, health care and equal pay.

She also plans to target cronyism among Republican officeholders, including Abbott, whose contributors have benefited from state contracts.

Gender angle

Political scientist Matthew Wilson of SMU said Davis would be a considerable long shot in a state where Republicans have take every statewide office since 1994.

He said the GOP candidate will try to “stay above the fray, not be ashamed or embarrassed of his pro-life credentials or run from that.” He also said the Republican will try “not to be dragged down into a discussion of the minutia of abortion.”

Abbott announced his candidacy this summer to succeed Perry, who is not seeking re-election after 14 years. Abbott is appealing to tea party voters, touting his conservative credentials and frequent suits against the Obama administration.

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio is considering running for lieutenant governor. She would join Davis at the top of the ticket, underscoring a Democratic theme of a GOP “war against women” over health care, gender equity and school funding.

WHAT HE SAID: Castro’s take

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro said Thursday that Sen. Wendy Davis would make a strong contender for governor.

“She will close the gap,” Castro said after recording a segment for Inside Texas Politics on WFAA-TV (Channel 8). “The question is how much can she close that gap.”

Castro, a Democrat once mentioned as a possible candidate for governor, stopped short of saying Davis would win the contest.

But he said it will be close. “It isn’t going to be one of those 41 percent for the Democrat, 56 percent for the Republican and the rest for the Libertarian.”

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